A Splintered Way of Saying
by AspenShiyan
Summary: The One About Jessie's Pregnancy.
1. December 22

[RE: Vanessa's response to the Mick Foley question. "Could it be any worse of a decision then letting adolescent boys wander around in a foreign country with Race's only daughter (he knows about)?"]

**Disclaimer:** Jonny Quest, Jessie Bannon, Hadji Singh, Dr. Quest and Race Bannon belong to Hanna Barbara. The others are mine. Bla bla bla.

**A Splintered Way of Saying**

**Chapter 1: Day 1**

_December 22_

The first story I heard about how it happened was from Ryan's aunt, Sherise, as she drove us from the airport to the family cabin.

Ryan only had to ask how everyone was doing and she went off.

"Well," she said. "Jonny's already made a spectacular mess of Christmas this year. And of the rest of his life, for that matter."

Sherise smoked while she drove and switched lanes sporadically, without warning. Ryan and I sat in the backseat together, his hand on my knee. I closed my eyes and gripped his leg every time she whipped around a turn, without so much as slowing down or using her blinker, or when she slammed through a red light.

He raised a brow at her.

"Our _Jonny_," she said, her voice raising. "Got _Jessie -_Jessie Bannon - _pregnant_."

"I'm sorry – what?" Ryan said, jerking his head back.

"Yeah," she said and took a drag.

"How old is he, again?"

"Sixteen."

"Oh... wow. Are they really sixteen? Man," he shook his head. "Wasn't Jonny _twelve_ just like... last week, or something?"

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"A long time ago, apparently."

She shook her head. "Only Jonny would be stupid enough to get his own bodyguard's daughter pregnant."

I turned to Ryan. "His _bodyguard_," I mouthed - I had a feeling I shouldn't interrupt Sherise. "Your cousin has a bodyguard?"

He nodded, chewing on his nail. He looked at Sherise. "Well," he said, sniffing. "What do you expect? You have two teenaged boys living with a teenage girl who isn't their sister, or otherwise related, and suddenly you're shocked when you find out she's pregnant? Oops. Can't figure how that one happened."

Sherise gave him an irritated look in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, but Jonny was the one stupid enough to – take the bait." She waved a hand and put the cigarette to her lips again. "But, I wouldn't be surprised," she said, flicking her cigarette. "If she actually meant for it to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if she was only after a way to get at his money."

"And he was only after-" Ryan said, raising his brows.

She glared at him in the mirror.

He smiled and ran his hand along my thigh.

It was the first time a boy had taken me home to meet his family for Christmas. I'd been nervous for over a month that I would make a horrible impression on them somehow. My dark secret: I was just glad someone had screwed up big time before I had the chance to.

"Sixteen years old and they're going to be stuck with each other for the rest of their lives. Did you know she already ran off the chef? That's why your mother couldn't pick you up at the airport. She's out interviewing for a new chef. Three days before Christmas. How are we supposed to find somebody now?"

"The chef?" I mouthed to Ryan.

"My grandma's chef," he mouthed back.

"She had some sort of hissy fit the first day she got here," Sherise said. "They were in the kitchen and she started yelling and _throwing_ things at him, next thing you know, he's walking out the door." She took a drag. "Understandably. So, now we'll be dealing with _that_ sort of thing for the next 18 years."

"Your grandma has a chef?" I mouthed.

Ryan nodded.

"And just _who_ is going to take care of that baby, huh?" Sherise said. "Who's been taking care of _them_? What example do they have, even?"

Ryan only bit his lip.

It was only mid-afternoon by the time we arrived, but already, the sun was properly hidden by a grove of evergreens to the west. Only fragments of light broke in through enormous bay windows situated side-by-side around every wall. The cabin where Ryan's family gathered every Christmas was really more of an estate. The entryway reminded me of a hotel lobby, with tunnel-ways leading into every direction of the downstairs and a grand staircase that split onto two separate wings of the second and third floors.

A young brunette, maybe ten or eleven, bounced into the room as we came in clanging and shuffling about with our bags.

"Heyyy," she said, running to Ryan, giving him a hug and a playful punch. "What took you so long?"

"Me? I'm early. By the looks of things, I'm the first one here. Where is everybody?"

"They're all out skiing. Are you Katia?" She smiled at me, head cocked to the side.

Ryan put his hand to my back. "I'm sorry. Katia, this is Michelle. Michelle, Katia."

Sherise heaved our bags to Michelle. "Show them to their room, will you? I think it's off that way." She motioned upwards, to the right.

Michelle shouldered Ryan's camera bag and my purse and we carried the luggage. Sherise took a cooler and disappeared down a hallway.

Michelle blabbered the whole way up the wide, marble steps. About boys. About the school play. About her awful bumble bee costume. All the way up the stairs, down the hall and to our room. When we got to the room, she went on about how Jonny and Michael were going to take her sledding soon, and did we want to go.

Ryan pushed the door open and heaved our suitcase inside. The room was simple enough, the size of a master suite, but simple, with a bed, two night tables a chair in the corner, a closet, window and bathroom open to the room with no door. I tossed my backpack onto the bed.

Michelle, hands behind her back, sidled into the room and plopped down on the bed beside my bag. She chewed on her cheek a minute while Ryan inspected the closet for hangers.

"Did you hear?" Michelle said. "I'm going to have a baby cousin."

"Something like that," Ryan said.

There were footsteps down the hall and then Sherise was in the doorway. "Michelle, did you leave that sandwich mess out in the kitchen?"

Michelle rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed.

"Clean up _after_ yourself," Sherise said as Michelle passed her.

"Yeah, yeah."

Sherise turned to Ryan. "I just talked to Michael. He said he's going to Gateway with Jonny, Jessie and Hadji for dinner. If you guys wanna go with, he'll be here is about an hour to pick you up. Otherwise, the rest of us are going to Lugano."

Ryan smiled politely. "We'll probably go with Michael," he said.

"...And Jonny and Jessie."

"Yeah."

She nodded, pursed her lips and left the room.

"Do you think Sherise even notices that I'm here?" I said.

Ryan laughed. "Not sure. She's so worked up over this pregnancy thing, I'm not sure she notices _anything_ else."

"It is a little scandalous."

He smiled. "Is it now? How old do you think she was when Michael was born?"

"Which one is Michael?"

"Her older son."

"Sherise's?"

He nodded.

"How old is he?"

"Twenty," he said, knowing she didn't look nearly old enough to have a son that age. Then, catching my reaction, he said. "Yeah. Exactly."

I sat on the bed and kicked my shoes off. "What's Gateway?"

Ryan shrugged. "I dunno. But, I'd rather go out with Michael than Sherise any day." He put my backpack on the night stand and flopped on the bed.

I shrugged. Seemed reasonable enough to me. What I didn't tell him was that by morbid curiosity, I was kind of interested in meeting the renegades anyway.

-0-

Michael had a thin goatee, short reddish-brown hair, glasses and a cigarette, unlit, perched above his ear.

It was almost dark by the time he got to the cabin, changed and was ready to go - well over an hour later. We waited for him in the lobby.

The first thing he did when he came in, before noticing Ryan, was extend a hand towards me with an ear-to-ear grin. "You must be Katia," he said. "Ryan talks my ears off about you." He turned to Ryan. "She's pretty."

"She's mine."

Michael gave him a one-armed hug and winked at me. "Good to see ya, mate." He rubbed his hands together. "Now, let's blow this joint. I'm hungry."

"_You're_hungry?" Ryan said as we followed him out the double front doors. "We've been waiting on you."

"Ryan, if you took as long as me, your hair could look this good, too."

"Yeah, yeah." Ryan waited until Michael's back was turned and messed his hair.

"Hey! Hey! None of that. Do not spoil the hair, man. Seriously. Not the hair."

There were almost a dozen cars parked on one side of the semi-circular driveway. When Michael opened the driver's door to one, Ryan took the seat right behind his. When I took the handle of the back-seat door on the passenger side, Michael slapped the hood.

"Wait. Wait. Wait," he said. "You can't leave me up here in the front by myself. Katia. Come on."

"_Me_?"

"You're the guest. You can't sit in the back. Come on. You see Ryan everyday. He brought you here to meet the family. Although, I can't account for his foolishness, we're a crazy lot." Ryan rolled his eyes and got in. I looked at Michael. "I won't bite," he said. "There's more leg room up here anyway. And _seat warmers_."

Michael had a red air-freshener dangling from the mirror, a hoola girl on his dash, a pack of cigarettes pinned over his sun visor and a pack stuffed between his seat and the middle console - and he drove. exactly. like. Sherise. I kept my eyes closed at least half of the trip and gripped the arm rest.

"Okay, so what's this Gateway place?" Ryan said.

"It's an outdoor mall downtown. There's half a gazillion places to eat there." He looked at me. "And shops," he said.

"So, do we know, exactly, where we'll be going then? It's going to be packed."

"Jonny, Hadji and Jessie went over there a little early, straight from skiing. Once they get there, they'll scoop it out and save a place somewhere."

"So..." Ryan said. "Is Jessie really-"

"Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. Come on. Don't even start. All anyone has been able to talk about the last couple of days is, 'Is Jessie really-'. Seriously, you've been in the car for what? Three minutes, you can't let _five_minutes pass without bringing it up?"

"It's interesting," Ryan said. He paused, then smiled, wickedly.

"Did she really run off the chef?"

"_Ryan_," I said.

"It's interesting."

"Here we go." After he switched lanes, Michael eyed Ryan in the mirror and pointed his cigarette at him. "He deserved to be run off." He took a drag. "And he was quitting anyway. She just gave him an earful before he left, is why everyone thinks she had something to do with it." He smiled, as if proud. Ryan gave me a look as if to say, 'I told you so.' "So, get this - we're in there, Jessie, your mom and me, and he comes in raving about how he's not going to be working for any terrorist and yadda yadda. And we're like - w-t-f, mate? Terrorist? And he started talking about yadda yadda and such and who and turns out... you know how Hadji wears that turban-"

"Yeah. Wait. He was worked up over that?"

"_Yeah._So then he and Jessie start going at it. And he's all blablabla one day yaddayadda, bombs, mace, yadda yadda. And then she threw a glass at him."

"A _glass_?"

"I mean, in his general direction. She didn't intend to hit him or anything. There is a dent in the fridge now, though."

"Holy crap."

Michael winked at me, sideways. He held his thumb and index finger half an inch apart. "She's a might defensive sometimes."

"And hormonal, maybe? She really threw a glass at him?"

Michael giggled. "Things always get just a little more exciting once that crew arrives, huh?" He tossed his cigarette out the window and pulled the spare off his ear. He tucked it between his lips and reached for his lighter.

When the phone rang, Michael answered it. "Heyyy, how's it going?" he said. "Are you there, yet?" He set his lighter on the dash.

Ryan leaned forward. "You're doing way too many things while driving. Give me the phone."

Michael grinned at him in the mirror. "Where were you guys thinking of going, anyway?"

"Who is that? Is it Jonny? Give me the phone."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you. Ryan's yammering in my ear."

"Give me the phone. You're going to get us killed."

Michael looked at me. "What're you in the mood for?"

"Not dying on the way to dinner would be a nice start."

"You're visiting the wrong family." He looked at Ryan in the rearview again. "How about you?"

But Ryan snatched the phone from him. He put it to his ear. "Michael can't talk right now. He's trying to get us killed." He paused a minute, listening. "Oo. That sounds good."

Michael shrugged and lit his cigarette.

Ryan's hand was on the back of my chair. "You like sushi, right? You feel like sushi tonight?"

"I like sushi," Michael said.

Ryan waved a hand at him, "I'm not talking to you."

"I could do sushi," I said.

Ryan turned back to the phone. "Yeah. Sushi's good."

"Oo!" Michael said. "Do they wanna go to that Happy Sumo place?"

"Do you want to go to that Happy Sumo place?" He turned to Michael. "Sounds good." Then to the phone. "Okay. Okay," he gasped suddenly and his eyes narrowed. "_Boy, I am still bigger and stronger than you._" He paused. "Yeah? We'll find out. Yeah. See ya there." He hung up. "Okay, so they'll save us a table... if they can. Or feed us their scraps if we take too long, Jonny says. He also thinks he can take me."

"That kid ain't scrawny anymore, just so you know." Michael flicked his cigarette. "Look at this freeway," he said. "These idiot signs. This one says the two left lanes go that way... that one says the two right lanes go this way." He pointed to them and I could see what he was talking about. He took a drag and glanced at me sideways. "There's only three lanes."

-0-

The waitresses at Happy Sumo wore red chopsticks in their hair and short, black skirts, despite the snow and sub zero temperatures outside. The lights were dim, yellow and hung like fireflies on thin strings. Artsy close-up photos of bodies suspended in motion were pinned to every wall.

I noticed the turban first, then saw the three teens chatting at a table in the far corner. The boy with the turban was dark and taller than the other two. He sat on one end of the row. I guessed it was Jonny in the middle. He had a beanie on and a dark scratch on his cheek that I could see from the other side of the room. He looked more than a year or two younger than the other, even though I knew he was the same age as the girl. Her hair looked burgundy in the yellow glow. Michael headed in their direction without a word.

Jonny looked up first. He had the same careless, ear-to-ear smile that Michael did. "Hey, look who's here. Guess you'll get to eat after all."

Michael flipped a straw-wrapper at him. "I'ma skin you, boy." He sat down.

Jessie gave him a little shove. "You can't go _anywhere_ without looking for trouble."

"This is Katia," Michael said abruptly, before anyone else could do introductions. He had a grand smile on. "Katia, this is Hadji," - Hadji sat directly across from him - "Jonny and Jessie. Hi, Jessie." He waved.

She rolled her eyes and gave me a very specific look, like 'boys are stupid' as I took a seat across from her.

Ryan sat across from Jonny. He nodded to Jonny and touched his own cheek in the same place as his scratch. "This from the spear fishing incident?"

Jonny blushed and looked away, hiding a sheepish smile. "I'd rather not talk about the spear fishing incident."

Jessie, Hadji and Michael laughed and Jessie bat at his hair.

"This place is jazzy," Ryan said.

Jonny nodded. "I'm not sure how I feel about the nearly naked sumo-wrestlers on the wall, though," he said, referring to the close-up pictures. Hadji looked up at them and scrunched his nose.

"It's art," Jessie said.

"Yeah, whatever."

Two waitresses stopped at the table, trays full of plates.

"We ordered, by the way," Jonny said.

"We got almost everything on the menu," Jessie said, as they started placing plates in the center of the table. "Just in case."

"In case of what?" Ryan said.

"We missed something."

The waitresses named each dish as they set them down. There were twelve total. They placed small plates and forks in front of each of us.

Both Jonny and Michael had trouble using their chopsticks and had to be taught by Jessie and Hadji, respectively. Ryan and I each had finished a roll by the time they were done.

"What is this supposed to be?" Jonny asked, holding up a green and red roll. His nose was scrunched a little.

"Dragon roll," Hadji said.

"Weren't you listening?" Jessie asked.

Hadji leaned in his chair, looking at her behind Jonny's back. "Is that a real question? Do you really not know."

"Hey, hey, hey," Jonny said. "I listen. Occasionally."

Jessie picked apart her roll and ate only the rice out of it.

Jonny glared at her plate. "I thought you liked sushi."

"Not lately," she said. She looked at him, then down at her belly, and shrugged.

He made a face and looked away.

Jessie looked at me. "So," she said. "How do you like Utah?"

"It's very... grey."

Both Jessie and Ryan laughed.

"Where are you from?"

"Florida."

"Wow. I guess Utah would be very grey to you, then."

"Wait," Jonny said. "But you live in Texas, right?" He looked at Ryan. "Am I losing my memory?"

"Yeah," I said. "We go to school in Texas."

Michael leaned over. "_How_ old are you, Katia?"

"Eighteen."

"Huh." He sniffed. He suddenly looked pleased with himself. "So, we have two 16-year olds, two 18-year olds and two 20-year olds."

Jonny clucked his tongue. "And none of us old enough to drink."

Jessie threw her napkin at him. "Like you would. You're crazy _enough_. Don't need to add alcohol to the mix."

Michael winked at her. "Only when you're not looking."

"I'm always looking."

"She _is,"_Jonny said.

"Mm," Ryan said, as if he'd just remembered something. "Your dad told me you got a new fire bird for your birthday."

Jonny nodded. "It ran for all of three days before it croaked."

"What's the matter with it?" Michael asked.

"The heating coil's busted."

"What type of busted?"

Jessie rolled her eyes as the boys got into the workings of Jonny's car. She twirled the ice around in her cup with a straw, then blew bubbles in it.

"So, I heard that you graduated early," I said. "That should make things a lot easier."

She frowned. "I _would_ have graduated early if we had a normal life. You can only spend so many weeks a year in grave danger before your school work starts to lag a little."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

She shrugged. "Dr. Quest tutors me, though. For the most part. Probably will until I graduate."

Hadji came over and took the stool on the side of the table next to Jessie. The air smelled slightly nicer when he came around, faintly of vanilla cologne.

"That didn't take long," she said.

"Yes. I really don't know what they're talking about."

"Not into cars?" I asked.

"Not especially."

Jessie seemed distracted, looking off at something behind Hadji. I followed her eyes. A table away, a spider crept across the floor, behind one chair. It stopped occasionally if someone stepped too close. When I looked up again, Jessie flashed me a knowingly uneasy smile, as if she hadn't seen another girl in months, and looked away.

-0-

"Did you keep up?" Ryan asked me that night. He was taking out his contacts in the bathroom, already in nothing but his boxers.

"Keep up?"

"Could you keep track of who everyone is?"

"Sorta. I think. I didn't _meet_ everybody, though.

"Well, most everyone," he said, shutting off the bathroom light. "Except my grandma, Benton... Race and... Paul." He had to think about each person who was missing.

"I still haven't seen your mom, either. Is she here yet?"

He climbed onto the bed. "I think so. She's probably hiding, though. Doesn't want you to whoop her at Scrabble again."

"Whatever."

"She lost face," he cried dramatically. "The torment. Total ruin."

I rolled my eyes. "Who're Race and Paul, again?"

He puckered out his lower lip in a pout before answering. "Race is Jessie's dad. Paul is Sherise's second husband, Michelle's dad."

"Where's Michael's dad?"

"Michigan. Michael's flying out day after Christmas to see him."

I didn't bring up the fact that Ryan's own father was still away on business and conspicuously absent. "You said that Jonny's mom died a while ago, right?"

"A long while ago," he said, tapping his own chest. "Do you know who everyone else is?"

"Michael is Sherise's son. Michelle is also Sherise's. Jonny is Benton's and Hadji is Benton's... except obviously not..."

"He's adopted."

"Oh. You didn't mention that part. And then there's Jessie, who isn't actually related, but is sort of Jonny's girlfriend... and, also, pregnant. Which is why she is here." Then I sat up and turned to him. "_Speaking_ of Jessie," I said, slapping his side with my pillow. He jumped and looked at me, startled. "I made a complete idiot of myself in front of her because of you."

"Me?"

"Because you said she graduated early. So, I brought it up, you know, just trying to make conversation. But, it turns out that she _hasn't_ graduated yet."

He flopped back down. "So she didn't graduate, yet. She's sixteen."

"She looked like I'd just stabbed her in the gut when I said it. Like she was still kinda sore about it and then I had to go and bring it up again. I think it was a big deal to her."

He turned over, pulling the blanket up to his shoulder. "Maybe it was. But still. She's sixteen. She has time."

"I still feel like an ass because of it."

"At least you didn't run off the chef."


	2. December 23 Part 1

Revised: 4.27.2009

* * *

**Chapter 2: Day 2, Part 1**

* * *

Note: I was only going to do each chapter as full days, but Day 2 somehow got ridiculously long, and, also, I'm kinda tired of writing at the moment. So, I split it into two parts.

**Disclaimer: **Jonny, Jessie, Hadji, Benton, Race and the Quest van are all belong to Hanna Barbara.

**Day 2, Part 1.**

I have never seen a TV like the one in Ryan's grandmother's downstairs living room. It sat on the floor and stretched up to just a foot short of the ceiling. Ryan and I watched the end of Frosty the Snowman and The Little Drummer Boy for maybe an hour before the house showed any signs of life.

Sherise was the first to come in, carrying a laundry basket on her hip. She looked surprised to see us when she came in.

"How long have you two been down here watching TV?" There were two couches in the center of the room, next to each other and parallel to the TV. Two lazy chairs flanked the couches on either side, at angles. Sherise tossed her laundry on the couch next to us and began folding.

"About an hour," Ryan said.

"Wow. I didn't even know you were up. I was going to come and get you after this. The gang was planning on going sledding or to a movie or something pretty soon here. You might want to get ready. Have breakfast." She smiled at me. "How was dinner?"

"It was great."

"Where'd you guys end up going?"

"Happy Sumo."

"Michael didn't harass you guys too much last night did he? I hope he hasn't scared you off, yet." She set her folded laundry in a neat little pile by the basket.

"Well, he sat far away."

She laughed.

Jonny came in silently. He was already sitting on the arm of a chair off to the side before I noticed that he was there. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Sherise put a hand on her hip. "Well, look who finally managed to drag his lazy bones out of bed. Just wait 'till the baby comes, see how much sleeping-in you get done then."

"Gotta get it in while I can."

Jonny was still in sweats and a loose white T-shirt. He looked half-awake. I had seen him the night before, of course, but it was dark then. Now, in the late morning light, drifting in through windows behind the TV, I got a much more clear view of his face. A hook-shaped scar cut across his brow, suspended over eyes that were unearthly blue, as if they opened onto a lake in another world. His gold-dust hair fell erratically in his face and eyes. He looked a bit like a blond Michael, sans the goatee and chain-smoking. He sat with his left foot turned in so that all his toes curled under his foot.

He picked a string from his pants and flicked it to the floor. "Where is everybody?"

Sherise gathered up her laundry and pinched Jonny's cheek on her way out of the room. "I don't know, Sunshine, but, you need to get dressed."

He glared at her back as she left and rubbed his cheek. After the door closed, he looked at us, as if still waiting for a real answer.

"Race was just in here," Ryan said, smiling wickedly. "But he left, said something about having to go clean his guns or get them ready or something."

Jonny slid off the arm of the chair and sat squarely in the center of it, cleaning the sleep from his eyes with an index finger. "I just got up. Why is everyone picking on me already?"

"Oh. Boo. Look at the little drummer boy," Ryan said gesturing to the TV. "He's little and everyone's picking on him."

"You sound like my dad." But, Jonny looked at the little drummer boy on the TV, anyway. "It' been forever since I've sat through a Christmas special."

"I'd bet it's been a while since you sat through anything."

He rolled his eyes and looked at me. "Good morning, Katia. How are you this morning?"

"You don't think I'll pick on you?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't."

"Well, you're right."

When Michael came in, he sounded as if he were crashing. He let the door bang against the wall and stumbled onto the couch face down. He groaned. The three of us looked at each other and then him. His voice came out muffled. "Somebody call an ambulance. I'm sick and dying."

Ryan hit his head with pillow. "Then get away."

Michael pulled a wad of toilet paper from under his waistband and blew his nose. "This house is insane, by the way. I wandered around for twenty minutes before I found people."

Jonny cocked his head to the side. "Why do you keep toilet paper there?"

Michael rolled his eyes at him. "In case I have an accident." He blew his nose again and looked at Jonny. "I don't have pockets. When did you turn into Ryan?"

"Did you spend twenty minutes looking for someone to annoy?"

"If I really were dying, would you still be this mean to me?"

"Mean? That's hardly mean. Look at the little drummer boy." Jonny said. He pointed to the TV but it was a commercial.

Michael sniffed. "You can't use the little drummer boy as a weapon for your picking on me. Leave him alone." And then he turned to face the back of the couch, away from the rest of us.

Ryan picked at his teeth. "Are you going with us sledding or to a movie or something?"

Jonny frowned. "Would any of those would _not _involve me having to get dressed at some point?"

"Unless you enjoy freezing and being mocked."

"I'll see what Jessie and Hadji are doing, probably. Are you going?"

"To which one?"

"I don't know. You're the one who brought it up."

Ryan looked at me, raising a brow.

"I've never been sledding in my life," I said. "I don't care if we go today or not, but we have to go before we leave here."

He nodded. "Today's as good a day as any."

A door along the side of the room opened and Ryan's mom - Catherine - came in. Ryan told me that she was forty-two years old. I had to admit, she looked marvelous. She had wavy blond hair and baby blue eyes. I had met her once before.

"Where have you been hiding the last two days?" Ryan said, getting up to give her a hug.

"If I told you, that'd ruin all the fun, don't you think?" She gave him a kiss on each cheek then looked around the room. "Good morning, everybody."

Jonny smiled. "Good morning."

"Katia!" She said, leaning down to give me a kiss on each cheek. "I'm glad to see that Ryan got you here in one piece. How's school?" She sat on the arm of the same couch Michael was laying on.

"Oh. The same old, same old. Studying. Tests. Homework. Tests."

She frowned. "Isn't it always? I hear you're doing well, at least."

Ryan smiled now. "Again, the same old, same old," he said.

Catherine smiled then looked down at Michael melted on the couch. "What happened here?"

Michael emitted a low, drawn out moan.

"He's sick," Ryan said.

She made a face and sat next to him on the couch, moving his legs to the side. She rubbed his back.

"Oh," he sighed. "Catherine, my love."

The door from outside opened and Jessie came in, holding a dog in her arms. She had hardly had time to shut the door behind her when he yipped and struggled to get away. When she set him down, he ran for Jonny and sniffed at his feet.

Michael groaned. "Why did you bring that thing in here?"

Jessie was taking off her gloves and stamping her feet. "Everyone else was either asleep or out somewhere. So, I went out to play with him. And then he just looked so lonely and cold when I left that I took him with me."

Jonny picked him up and hugged him.

She took her beanie off and looked Jonny up and down. "Oh, your jammies are so cute," she said. "I bet you have some cute day clothes, too, but we may never know."

He scowled at her. "Leave me alone."

"Hey, I brought you your dog." She sat on the arm of the couch where Catherine had been a minute ago.

Jonny turned him toward me. "This is Bandit, by the way." He made one of the dog's paws wave to me before he got licked in the face.

"So, do you guys know what's going on today?" Ryan said. "Sherise mentioned sledding."

"Oh," Catherine said, turning to Jonny. "I was just talking to your dad about that. He seemed interested in going out today."

"Where is he, by the way?" Bandit hopped out of Jonny's arms and wandered around the room.

"Outside. At least, when I talked to him, he was."

Michael grabbed a magazine from between the two couches and threw it across the room. "Go get it boy."

Bandit watched the magazine fly through the air, unimpressed, then continued to sniff at Michael's hand.

"He's not really a fetching dog," Jonny said.

"Well, he should go over there. I don't like dogs when I'm sick." He batted at him. "Go away."

Catherine flicked the top of his head. "Be nice," she said.

Jonny glared at him. "Yeah, be nice. He's just a dog."

Catherine's phone rang and she jumped. She scrambled for it inside her pocket and flipped it open. "Hello? Hi honey." She put her hand over the mouth piece and looked at Ryan. "It's your dad. Wanna say hi?"

"Maybe later."

"Gah," Michael gasped. He bat Bandit away forcefully.

"Hey," Jonny said, picking him up.

"He scratched me." He held his hand up to demonstrate.

"Yeah," Jessie said. "Because you hit him."

Michael's hand was bright red and the skin was broken over the top in two parallel scratches. He groaned and held his hand out. "Oh, God. I'm bleeding and have the flu. What could possibly be worse?"

Jessie got off the couch and backed away. "Being pregnant and having the flu?"

Catherine held her hand over the mouth piece. "Don't get her sick, Michael."

"What? Me?" But, she wasn't listening anymore, she retreated to the corner of the room to talk. He sighed and turned onto his back. He held his hand over his head.

"I think it's time to make an exit," Jonny said to Bandit.

Jessie ruffled his hear. "And get dressed?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Nana's going to freak if she sees him in the house," Michael said.

"It's Jessie's fault." He said. He passed Sherise in the doorway, almost running into each other. They both apologized and then she stared at Bandit. Jonny held a finger to his lips. "Shh."

She shook her head at him but moved on. She came in with her hair neatly curled this time and with make-up on. She picked up the magazine Michael had thrown and put it back. "Have you guys had breakfast, yet? It's almost noon." Before we could answer, she looked down at Michael. "You're not ready. Why aren't you even close to ready? What have you been doing this whole time instead of getting ready?"

He looked at her from under his arm. "Watching the ceiling, thinking how angry at life I am?"

"What for?"

He coughed, purposefully. "I'm sick," he said.

Jessie sat down in the chair next to mine. She leaned in. "Katia," she whispered. "I don't suppose you have any Midol or Advil or anything?"

"I think so," I said, getting up. "I can look." I turned to Ryan. "Be right back."

He nodded.

Jessie followed me down the hall.

"Were you just looking for an excuse to get out of there?" I asked.

She smiled, fist to her back. "Yes and no."

"It's your back?" I asked. "That hurts."

She nodded.

"So... is it normally like that or..."

"Just lately," she said.

"Ah." We were quiet going down the hall. I tried to think of something else to say, but nothing I cared to know seemed appropriate to ask. Light faded in from a window at the end of the corridor. Jessie and Race's rooms were both down the same hall, on the opposite side as mine. "So... are you going to see your mom on Christmas or anything?"

Jessie watched her feet as she walked. "Maybe on New Year's. She hasn't wanted to have much to do with me the last couple of weeks. Or... well, any of us."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to pry."

"It's okay. Everybody else does."

I stopped at my door. "Doesn't mean it's okay." She looked startled and - if only for a minute - her actual age. Then I opened the door.

Jessie went to the window and looked out. Her hair spilled in layers over her shoulders. I grabbed my purse and sat on the floor, searching through pockets.

"You got those three handled?" she asked.

"Who? The cousins? Michael and Ryan and Jonny?"

She nodded.

"I pretty much just smile and nod."

"Good move," she said.

I finally decided on dumping my entire purse out onto the floor.

"Well, that's efficient," Jessie said.

I thinned the pile out with one hand and looked through everything. No medicine of any kind. I looked up at her. "I thought I had some. I don't keep stuff like that anywhere else."

"Thanks for looking."

I put everything back in my purse and sat on the bed. The covers were soft under my hands. "Maybe your dad does?"

Her lip twitched. "Maybe."

"Don't feel like asking him?"

Her eyes followed something outside the window. "We haven't spoken much since we got here."

I folded my hands in my lap. She looked completely alone, even in the same room as other people. "Because of this whole thing?"

She raised a brow at me, half-amused. "What else?" She turned back to the window, biting her lip. "He found out on accident, so, not only did I get pregnant, but I didn't tell him for a month and a half, which I think kind of hurt him even more. And then we came here and... it's been pretty easy to find other things to do, to think about."

The room was silent between us.

"Do you come here every year?"

She sat on the bed next to me. "No. Sometimes we do. This year, Dr. Quest insisted on it. Nobody really felt like arguing with him."

It took me a minute to figure out who she was talking about. Ryan never referred to his uncle that way. "Jonny's dad?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like it here?"

"Yeah. Well enough."

"What about at home?"

She sniffed. "Which one?"

"Which one is home?" I suddenly felt very old sitting next to her.

She looked at me as if she were trying to understand something. "Where's home for you? Texas or Florida?"

I thought about it a minute. "Florida. Always."

She smiled. She looked tired, worn out and in pain.

I put a hand on her shoulder and she changed somehow. Her face dropped and she stood up. The smile she gave me was forced, polite. Her voice was small. "I'm going to go see if my dad has anything," she said. And then she left.

When I got back down to the living room, it was empty. I searched a few rooms and finally found Ryan in the kitchen.

When I came in, he had his back to me. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Hiya. I made you a bagel." He grabbed one of the plates in front of him and set it at the island, where there were barstools. "Plain bagel, salmon cream cheese. There wasn't really anything else. Did you know that there isn't one Bruegger's Bagels store in Utah?"

"Oh Christ," I said, sitting down. "That's terrible. It's a good thing we're leaving soon."

Jonny was fiddling with the blender. Michael was standing in front of an industrial bagel toaster - the kind that rolls the bagel through it, into the back and then slides it in front again. Michael was hunched over and looking in. He had a wool blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "This thing is amazing," he whispered.

"Yeah," Ryan said, bringing his own bagel over and sitting next to me. "Wait 'till you see what a microwave can do." He eyed Jonny putting things into the blender, brows furrowed. "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to be using things that involve sharp moving parts?"

"Why doesn't anybody think I can handle household objects?"

Michael's bagel fell to the bottom of the toaster and he immediately stabbed it with a fork he'd been holding.

"A fork?" I said. "Are you eating your bagel with a fork?"

"It's too hot to touch." He held it up and took a bite.

"But not too hot to put down your esophagus," Ryan said.

He made a face. "Didn't think of that." He pointed at Jonny. "He's putting pineapple into the blender."

Jonny looked up, startled. "What's wrong with putting pineapple in a blender? Blenders are for _food_."

"What are you doing?" Ryan said.

"I'm making a smoothie, what're you doing?"

"I'm going back to bed," Michael said, passing him. "Sayōnara."

"You're not going sledding?"

Michael turned and gave him an exasperated look. He made a point of coughing into his fist.

Jonny looked at me. "What's wrong with pineapple? Do you know?"

I shrugged. "It's healthy."

He snickered and put the lid on the blender. He switched it on. Ryan and Michael jumped, covering their ears. They glared at him. Jonny turned the blender off and looked at them. "It's about to get really loud in here, by the way. Just to... you know, give you a heads up." He turned the blender back on.

Michael continued to glare at Jonny as he left, almost running into Jessie coming in. She stood at the counter by Jonny watching the contents of the blender spin. Again, her fist was pressed to the small of her back. Lines creased her forehead.

When he shut the blender off, she looked at him.

"Do you have any Tylenol... Advil... Ibuprofen... Children's cough syrup? I don't know, anything. Preferably lots."

"No. But I have a smoothie." He held out the blender to demonstrate. "Want some?"

She looked into the blender, standing on her toes. "What is it?"

"It's a smoothie."

She glared at him. "What's in it?"

"Just... stuff that was around. Nesquik, yogurt, milk-"

"Pineapple," Ryan said.

"Pineapple," Jonny continued. "...a banana, and. . . did I mention the Nesquik already?"

"You did."

"Want some?" He held it out again.

Jessie scrunched her nose. "Chocolate, pineapple and banana only work together in fondue."

He looked inside the blender as if this hadn't occurred to him. "It's like fondue on the go."

"Cold fondue on the go?"

He shifted from one foot to the other. "Michael eats bagels on a fork."

"You really don't have any sort of pain killers?"

"You know, I was just in my room. You couldn't have asked me then?"

"Your room is on the other side of the house."

"Exactly."

The door swung open and an older man walked in. He was well put together, wearing clothes that were neatly pressed and fit enough for a job interview. His hair was nearly the same color as Michael and Ryan's but graying a little at the sides. He had calm, brown eyes.

"Hey, pop," Jonny said. He held up the blender. "Want some smoothie?"

He seemed caught off guard. "I suppose."

Jonny turned for the cupboard, but tripped, nearly spilling the smoothie. Bandit yipped and ran off to the other side of the kitchen. Jonny steadied himself against the counter. "Christ," he whispered.

His dad sighed. "And that is why he probably should not be in the kitchen." He sat down, then looked at me. "I'm sorry," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm Benton."

"Katia," I said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Katia." His voice was warm, liquid. "Morning Ryan. Jessie."

"Morning, Benton," Ryan said.

Jessie was staring at her hands. A smile flickered briefly to her face when he greeted her, nothing more.

Jonny set a cup in front of him, filled with light brown smoothie.

"Thanks, son." They exchanged smiles.

Jessie gave Jonny a pleading look.

"Alright," he said. He set the blender on the counter. "I'll be right back."

Benton raised a brow when he left but didn't say anything.

Jessie leaned against the counter and used the incoming sunlight to make shadow puppets on the floor, which the dog chased.

Benton took a drink and immediately cringed. He looked at Jessie. "Did you try this?"

She shook her head. "No way."

He set the cup back on the counter. "I should've taken that as a sign."

Ryan got up. "Want another bagel?"

I stared at my empty plate for a minute, thinking. "Yes," I said finally.

Ryan took my plate and looked at Jessie and Benton. "Anyone else? Bagels?"

"No thanks," Benton said.

Jessie shook her head.

Benton looked at her. "Have you had breakfast?"

She continued to entertain Bandit without looking at him. "I'm not hungry," she said.

He got up and went to the fridge. "You need to eat something." He pulled a carton of eggs out.

"Yeah. Midol," she said.

He made a face. "Please don't take Midol, Jessie." He started cracking eggs into a pan. He looked up at her and sighed. "Take something with codeine in it. It's safer."

She didn't say anything, but bit her lip. In another minute, she left the room, door whooshing shut behind her. Benton sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his brow.

Ryan put a fresh bagel in front of me. We exchanged uneasy looks before he sat down.

Benton cracked six eggs in total then put them back in the fridge. He gave us an apologetic look. "I heard you wanted to go sledding," he said, looking at me.

"I've never been."

He grabbed some bread out of a nearby cupboard. "Well, that's hardly living."

"Are you going?" Ryan asked.

"I was thinking about it. Catherine and Sherise were talking about it this morning. They're both going and my mom, I think."

"I haven't seen Grandma since I got here."

Benton gave him a look as if to say, 'lucky you.'

"Is she upset?"

"Unhinged."

Ryan winced.

Benton began flipping eggs. "She's going with Sherise, so you can ride with us if you want, since Michael's sick. Unless you want to ride with them."

"Where's Hadji?"

"He and Race went out this morning already. If they go, they'll meet us there."

Ryan looked at me.

"I think we'll take the deal," I said.

Benton laughed.

The door opened again and Jonny appeared, Jessie on his heels. They plopped down beside us at the counter, side by side. Jessie had a small medicine bottle in her hands, she grabbed a knife off the counter and wedged it between the lid and the bottle. When she caught Benton eying her, she held the bottle up. "It's Tylenol," she said.

He set a plate in front of each of them and one more beside Jonny. Jessie looked up, aggravated and opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.

"It doesn't matter if you're hungry," he said.

She looked away and popped the lid off the bottle. When she turned it over, only one small tablet fell into her palm. She groaned.

Jonny bit his lip. "Sorry," he said. "I thought there was more in there."

Benton dropped toast onto each of their plates. "We'll stop at a store on the way," he said.

The whole way to the store, Jessie leaned against Jonny, eyes pressed shut, arms around her waist. I could hear her short breaths from the other side of their van-bus vehicle. It was enormous and housed several computers mounted on the walls. The seats were arranged along the edges, facing each other, with an aisle down the middle.

When we stopped, Ryan asked me if I wanted anything.

"Something hot and maybe chocolaty," I said.

He smiled and gave me a kiss before hopping out and following Benton into the store.

"I'll be right back," Jonny said, putting a hand on Jessie's shoulder to steady her as he got out from under her weight. She looked around like she was dizzy and nodded to him. After he left, she laid down across the whole seat, knees drawn to her chest.

It was snowing outside, slowly, as if the sky were being lazy about it. I stepped outside and looked up at it, letting several thin flakes fall on my face.

Benton was the first to come out of the store. He smiled as he passed me and rubbed his hands together. He looked in at Jessie, laying on the seat. He let a long breath out and got in, sitting next to her. He ran a hand through her hair and held a small bottle of Tylenol out in front of her.

"Oh, thank God," she said, sitting up. Her eyes were bleary, red.

Benton wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her forehead. I could barely make out his low voice. "I know it hurts," he said. "I know that this isn't easy for you. But, you have to be careful." He got up. "Take two," he said, holding up his fingers to indicate.

She nodded and he went to the front of the bus, taking the driver's seat again.

Ryan and Jonny came out a minute later. Ryan had two cups in his hands and Jonny had a fruit roll-up hanging out of his mouth.


	3. December 23 Part 2

Heh. I know I sort of disappeared there for a while. On the bright side, I just got an official The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest pin off of eBay! It arrived in the mail the other day and I was so excited that I wanted to tell everybody.

**Disclaimer**: Jonny, Race, Hadji, Dr. Quest and Jessie all belong to Hanna Barbara. I have only stolen them, manipulated them and turned their lives inside out for my own personal amusement. Sry.

**Day 2, Part 2**

Sledding, I quickly learned, involves a lot of snow getting into a lot of places it really should not get into. In your socks, for one. In your mouth, for another, if you face plant. Particularly, if you face plant when your sled hits a snow ramp and continues along its path without you.

Ryan and I sat gasping in the snow, breathing ice. Somehow, I was sweating under my clothes. My nose and ears felt brittle with cold.

"Oh, God," Ryan said, covering one eye with his hand. "I cracked my head."

I sat back on my hands and looked up at the sky. On cold days like this, jet trails linger in the sky for hours. They almost look like clouds, puffy and white. "Where's our sled?"

"In its evil lair, laughing at us. I cracked my head. I could be bleeding. Don't you want to look? Make sure I'm okay?"

I got up and sat on his lap, pulling his head toward me to look at every angle. "You _say_ you cracked it. I think you're okay."

"Well, it's a good thing you checked anyway."

I looked up when I heard the grinding whoosh of rubber on snow. "We're about to get hit."

"What?"

"We're about to get hit." I pulled him up and staggered a few steps before Sherise and Michelle's inner tube crashed through the same ramp that pummeled us. Sherise fell off, flopping into the snow but Michelle held on, squeeling down the hill and out of view.

Sherise lay in the snow, on her back, panting. She looked at us and, when she regained her breath, asked how far the hill went down.

Ryan held his head. "Twenty feet? I don't know. Not far."

She shook her head. "I'm too old for this. My bones are going to crack."

"Whatever. 'Old,' my butt."

She rolled her eyes and shook a finger at him. "We saw you two, by the way."

"So? I'm allowed."

"I'm just saying, we saw you."

I helped her up as Michelle's head appeared coming up the hill. Michelle had an ear-to-ear smile, dragging the tube and our sled with it.

"Oh, good," Ryan said. "You found it."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you lot how to hold on?"

"She tried. Oh, how she tried." Ryan took the sled for her.

She bumped his hip as the four of us trudged up the hill. "What were you two doing down there?"

"Recovering."

She sauntered off a bit, slowing down for me, pulling up the rear.

"Did you see me get all the way down the hill?" she asked.

"I did. It was impressive."

"How many times have you guys gone down?"

"This was the fourth time. The first time on this side of the hill."

"Have you tried that one side by the fence?"

"No way. I'm a first-timer here. You have to go easy on me."

"Oh," she said. She was quiet for a minute. The others were already aways ahead of us. A smile crossed her face. "Do you love Ryan?"

I took a step back. "Of course I do. Why?"

"Just curious."

"Okay?"

She sniggered and ran up ahead of me. She stopped when she caught up to Ryan and walked backwards in front of him. Her hands were behind her back and she had a cutsy, mocking pose.

Ryan laughed and looked over his shoulder at me. He winked and I actually blushed.

When we got to the top of the hill, Ryan wrapped an arm around my waist. "Feel like taking a break?"

"Definetely."

"Can we use the sled?" Michelle asked.

"Course." Ryan set it in the snow.

Michelle lept on and immediately started to drift down the hill.

"I'll race you, Mom."

Sherise gave her an exhausted look and flopped into the tube. "Okay. But, you have to push me."

When we got to our camp on the top of the hill, teaming with dozens of other families out for the day, we had attracted a small crowd. There were a few people I didn't recognize and others that were missing still.

Ryan introduced me to Sherise's husband, Paul, who had a round, red face and childishly large eyes. He had brought a small red tripod grill and was cooking hot dogs on it in the snow, which drew most the crowd. They stopped to talk to Paul and tell stories about grilling. Conversation starter, I guess. He told them that when the hot dogs were done, he'd give them out. He also had two thermoses full of hot cocoa sitting on a table by the grill. Ryan stole a pack of his frozen hot dogs and sat down, pressing the package to his head.

Paul gave me a knowing look. "I bet you're not a hot dog person, are you?"

"Not really, no."

He raised a brow. "Salmon?"

"_Salmon_?" I poured some hot cocoa for myself.

"There's always a lot of high brows here. I like to bring something that they could at least accept as food substance."

"To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure I feel like anything at all. I had a big breakfast."

He gave me a dark look. "So," he said. "How do you like Utah?"

"I like the fact that it snows."

"How's the cold for you?"

"Not too bad. We got new clothes before we came here so we wouldn't freeze."

"Smart. Is this the first Christmas you've spent away from your folks?"

"Yeah. Is it yours?"

He looked at me, half-bewildered. "No."

I took a sip of the cocoa. "Just thought I'd ask."

"You're a tricky one, you."

I shrugged and sat next to Ryan. He still had the package of hot dogs to his forehead.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Actually, I was just thinking that maybe I could try eating these through my forehead..." He glared at me. "I hurt. You should comfort me." I offered him some cocoa.

"So," Paul said. "Katia. Is that a Russian name?"

I nodded.

"You don't have an accent."

"I don't speak Russian."

"Just your parents, then?"

"My mom. She was Uzbek."

"Uzbek?"

"She was from Uzbekistan. It's south of Russia."

He nodded. "Was?"

"She died when I was two."

"Oh," he said. He started puting hot dogs onto a plate covered with tin foil. He was quiet for a while. I rubbed Ryan's head and looked around for somewhere else to be. Paul looked up at me. "You know... Jonny's-"

"I know."

He closed his mouth and watched the ground. He put more hot dogs on the grill and a strip of salmon. He shut the grill and looked around.

A few people sat on coolers around a heater near the table. Paul eyed a man standing a few feet from us, turned slightly, looking off into the distance.

"Anything moving out there, Race?"

Race glanced at him without moving. His face was hard, focused. He had sharply-cut features and white hair. His eyes were pale with a hint of blue - the same shade as melting ice. Race looked back into the distance without answering him.

"It's the holidays, Race. You can relax a little." He held up the plate. "Hot dog?"

"I can't think of a time that is less relaxing than a holiday."

"You're just looking at life all the wrong way."

I leaned over to Ryan and whispered, "you said that Race is Jessie's dad?"

"Yeah."

"He's scary."

"No joke?"

Hadji came up the hill behind Paul, lips purple and lashes laced with snow. He walked to our camp slowly, taking his time to watch all the kids running around, squeeling and throwing powdery snowballs that fell apart before hitting their targets.

"You done already?" Paul said.

"Done?" Hadji said, wiping his face of thin flakes. "I don't plan on starting."

"You too old to go sledding?"

"Too smart. I was just watching in case Jonny cracked his head open or broke a bone or something. I brought my camera today."

Race turned and gave him a funny look.

"I find it amusing on occassion," Hadji said.

"I wasn't expecting you to say something like that." Race smiled and continually scanned the area while he spoke. After a minute, something else occured to him. "Did he?"

"Not yet."

"I cracked my head," Ryan said. "Why weren't you watching me? You could've administered first aid or something."

I gasped and turned to him. "I administered first aid."

"And it was lovely. Although, it didn't involve bandages or guaze or anything."

"You _baby_. You're not dying."

Paul raised his tongs at Ryan. "How did you get injured before Jonny did?"

"I don't even know."

An older woman sat down by the heater in a chair turned towards us. "Paul," she said. "Are you really grilling hot dogs in the middle of winter?"

"People don't stop getting hungry 'cause it's snowing out, Gwen. I brought you salmon."

"Why?"

Paul looked taken aback. "What kind of question is that?"

She shook her head and rested her chin in her palm.

"Hi, Nana," Ryan said.

She turned, startled. "Oh, hello Ryan. When did you get in? No one even told me you were here yet."

"Last night."

"Oh. Well, how clever." She looked at me. "And, what was your name, dear?"

"Katia."

"Katia. I thought it was something like that. Well, what do you think?"

"Of what?"

"Of the family."

"Oh. Very friendly." I nodded to myself and looked at Ryan. "And exciting," I said.

"Yeah." She looked back at Paul. "Exciting." She sighed. She looked at Ryan. "What happened to you?"

"I hit my head."

She smiled at me. "My family," she said. "I bred a bunch of clutzes."

Race was behind Gwen before I noticed that he was moving, eyes locked on something in the distance, behind us.

"I'm not a clutz. We went over a ramp. It was like... giant."

Race stopped on the other side of Gwen but his eyes continued to follow something behind us.

Gwen smoothed her skirt. "Repetition would say otherwise, dear."

"It's just Michael and Jonny who make the rest of us look crazy."

I turned to look for what Race was seeing. It looked like a bunch of families milling about, climbing up the hill and racing back down again. Some adults stood around talking or buttoning toddler jackets that came loose, or tying shoelaces.

"Is something wrong, Race?" Ryan said.

He didn't answer. His arms were crossed over his chest and he glared into the distance, looking removed from us, disturbed.

"Roger?" Gwen said, with a tone of guarded patience.

His eyes twitched, making smaller movements as his target came closer.

"Race, there better not be something wrong. I just got these hot dogs done," Paul called to him.

Groups of people passed before Race, oblivious, chattering amongst themselves. And then it was obvious. A man, by himself, eyes locked on Race, returning the same cold stare. He walked among a crowd of people coming up the slope, dragging sleds and tubes and human-sized saucers.

He smiled at Race in a way that made me shiver, not like a smile at all, but an unspoken threat. I felt dirty being within eyesight of him.

"Race," he said. "How nice to see you again."

"What mad house let you loose?"

He sniffed. "Just thought I'd come by, visit, say hi - as a free man."

"I'd suggest you be leaving rather quickly," Race said.

"Or what?" He spread his arms out, to indicate everyone around him. "What would you get away with out here?"

Race pulled one of the stakes out of the ground, holding the flagged end. "That's not the real question. The real question is just how rational and forgiving do you really think I am?"

The man looked from Race to the stake in his hand and back again. He glanced at us and his eyes fell on Hadji. He laughed and backed away. "Right. Crazy old Race. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around." He left without once turning his back to Race, holding that same sick smile.

When he was gone, Gwen sighed, impatient, disgusted. "Do you think that's civilized behavior, Roger?"

He didn't answer her. The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched, bulging visibly.

Gwen huffed and turned away. She hid her forehead in her palm.

"You alright, Race?" Paul said. "I think this whole ordeal has put you on edge. Understandably. I tell you one thing. I'd be mighty stressed in your position... If Michelle came to me when she was sixteen-years-old and told me she was pregnant, I'd kick her out in a heart beat."

Race took his time responding to him. "Lucky for Michelle, girls generally don't _get_ _themselves_ pregnant. Somebody usually does that for them." Race looked off down the hill. "Last I checked. Besides that, your daughter isn't Jessie and you don't know Jessie and Jonny the way I do." Race eyed him. "Clearly."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Speaking of them," Hadji said, his voice low, uneasy. "Do you know where they are?"

Race returned his nervous gaze and looked around. He walked the rim of the hill, looking anxiously about. "I'll be back," he said.

When he was gone, Ryan took the hot dogs off his forehead and gave Hadji an absolutely confounded look. "What just happened?"

Hadji shook his head in a way that made it the absolute end of that conversation.

Michelle bounded through the snow, out of nowhere, to the hotdog table.

"Hey, Dad!"

"Good afternoon, Sunshine. Where's your mother?"

Michelle turned around. "She's right behind me... somewhere." She shrugged. She stood on her tip toes, looking at the hot dogs wrapped up on the plate. She plucked one out and ate it without a plate or bun. She almost ran off but stopped herself. "Can I have a hot dog?" Sherise huffed over to our camp.

"Yeah, and see if you can hand out those others while you're at it."

"Why'd you make so many?"

Paul stared at the hot dogs a minute, contemplating. "I really don't know. I got into it. Kinda fun cooking hot dogs in the snow. People are just fascinated with it."

Michelle held the hot dog in her mouth and carried one of the plates around, to people passing by. They were delighted, and a few came to sit with us a bit, even.

Jonny materialized out of the crowd. He made a fake sad face when he got to us. "Everybody left me."

"Want a hotdog, Jonny?"

"I could die for a hotdog right now." He took his gloves off to eat one.

"Why doesn't anybody use plates anymore?" Gwen said.

"This is going to be gone before I can get a plate."

"Do you know what is in those things?" Ryan said.

"Don't even start."

"Sometimes I think you actually go to great pains to stay blissfully ignorant," Hadji said.

"I don't know what would give you that idea."

Michelle ditched the hotdog plate on the ground and gathered a snowball. When Paul had his back turned, she flung it at him. It came apart midair and only a few wet pieces hit the backs of his legs. He turned around and looked at the failed pieces of snowball behind him. "Oh yeah?" he said, scooping snow.

Ryan threw his hands over his head. "I think I'd like to stay out of the fire, thanks."

I shook my head at him.

"What?"

"_Baby_."

"Hey, is Doug coming this year?" Hadji asked.

"Yeah. Of course." Jonny chewed the remainder of his hot dog while dodging flying snow.

"I just thought he was usually here by now."

"He is, he just procrastinated on getting the ticket this year."

"Who?" I asked.

"My grandpa. Mom's side. He usually spends the holidays here." Jonny bit his lip. "He doesn't really have anyone else to spend them with."

Michelle crashed into the hotdog table, knocking it, the hotdogs and the two thermoses down onto Hadji, who was sitting closest to it.

"You okay, Hadj?"

"Just fine," he breathed, pulling the table up. "Fortunately, I have another foot."

Jonny picked the thermoses from the snow as Hadji set the table upright.

"Those hotdogs didn't get dumped into the snow, did they?" Paul said.

Jonny kicked a few around. "Thirty-eight second rule?"

"Everything alright over here?" Jessie asked.

Jonny and Hadji turned. "Hey, where've you been?"

"Walking around. Where was I supposed to be? What happened?"

"Nothing major. Hadji's foot is busted, but that's sort of all." He nodded and averted Hadji glaring at him.

"I hit my head, nearly died," Ryan said. "Sherise almost broke her neck."

Jessie eyed Jonny suspiciously. "And you...?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, so, Hadji's foot is busted, Ryan hit his head, Sherise nearly broke her neck and you... you aren't _scathed _in any sort of way?"

"See, that's what I was thinking."

Hadji shook his head at Jessie. "You strike me as being slightly insensitive today."

"Are you alright, Hadji?"

"Mostly, yes."

Jonny smiled. "I haven't broken any bones today. I just realized that. Pretty cool."

Ryan glared at him from under the box of popsicles held at his head. "Hey, Jonny," he yelled. "What's that scratch thing on your face?"

"It's a scratch, Ryan."

"Oh, wow. I didn't expect you to answer that. Are you talking about it now?"

Jonny thought about it a minute. "I don't even know what you're referring to."

"Oh, _right_," Jessie said. "Congratulations on using that big word, by the way." She poured some hot cocoa from the thermos.

He glared at her and shook his head. "I see you're feeling better."

"This hot cocoa turns out to be kinda cold." She shook her cup around a little. "Mostly frozen, actually."

"What kind of cheap thermos did Paul get?"

She blinked at him. "Was that question _meant_ to answer itself?" She took a sip. "It's still kinda good. Um... in a coldish sort of way." She held it out to Jonny. "Want some?"

"What? Cold? Like cold fondu? You didn't even have some of my smoothie this morning."

"Did you even have some of your smoothie this morning?"

He shifted feet and pursed his lips. "Some, yes."

"Enough to taste it?"

"Don't act like it was bad. How would you even know?"

Catherine came up over the hill behind Jessie. "Okay," she said. "Look at what I found." She was holding an inner tube that went from the snow up to her shoulders and completely concealed her body.

"Now just what are you going to do with that?" Gwen asked.

"I'm going to see how many people I can fit on it." She smiled at me and Ryan. "I'm going to test it on the kids."

"On the kids?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. You know... in case it turns out catastrophic." She looked at us again.

Ryan shook his head. "Uh-uh. I am not a kid."

"You are to me."

"I'm injured."

"You can recover later."

She looked at Jonny. "How many people do you think we could fit in here?"

He looked the tube up and down. "Six?"

She looked around the group, counting people with one finger. "Perfect. Everyone under twenty-one, you're in."

Hadji put his hands up. "Wait. What?"

"You get to test drive the new tube."

"Have Jonny test it."

"Yeah. Both of you. And you guys." She pointed at us again, and Jessie.

Jonny inspected the tube from side to side. "How fast do you think it can go?"

"Past injuries are only justified if we learn not to make the same mistakes again," Hadji said. "When Jonny wants to know how fast it will go, that's a bad idea. Believe me, I have experience."

"Did I mention that I'm already injured?" Ryan said.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "What's the matter with you guys? Didn't you come here to sled?"

"Not piled onto a giant tube with Jonny wanting to know how fast it will go, no."

"I came here to sled," Jessie said.

"You would."

"What does that even mean?"

"Can I ride it?" Michelle asked.

"Are you under twenty-one?"

"As far as I know."

"Right then. Katia?"

"I'll go."

"See. The girls aren't scared."

"They're also not heavy."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. I was hoping _something_. Hadji?"

Hadji look at the snow, gravley. "I don't have anything."

"Come on," Jonny said. "Pain is only temporary. Memories are forever."

Everyone turned and stared at him.

"What? I say cool things sometimes, too."

"Is that actually your philosophy or your excuse?"

"Does it matter?"

"Okay, no more chit chat. Let's go. Chop chop. If you come quickly, I'll even let you pick which side I push you down."

Jonny looked over towards the fence. "That one."

Hadji and Ryan both got up. "Veto."

Ryan helped me up. "I didn't imagine that a 110 pound woman could still be so forceful."

Jonny and Hadji looked at each other and each raised a brow. They turned at the same time to look at Jessie.

"Don't either of you even think about it," she said.

Jonny looked at Ryan. "Me neither."

Michelle literally ran circles around us as we followed Catherine who intermittantly turned around to make sure we were still behind her.

Hadji, Jessie and I were behind the others, a few paces slower.

"This is going to be interesting," Jessie said. "I feel like I should be nervous."

Hadji's brow lifted. "Why _aren't_ you more nervous?"

"Well, Jonny's already injured me," she rested her hands on her belly. "You know... in a way."

"Ouch," he said. He looked at her like she was an alien.

She kicked at the snow. "Yeah. Actually, don't tell anyone I said that."

"Don't worry."

Catherine set the tube in the snow. "This is going to rock."

Ryan glared at her. "Are you actually evil?"

"No. You're going to have fun. Stop whining."

Jessie smiled to herself. "I like her."

"Okay," Catherine said. "Boys on the bottom row." Jessie raised a brow at her. "Heavier," she said.

Jonny plopped in the middle while Ryan and Hadji reluctantly took the sides.

"Where did you get this?"

"The family over there was tying really hard to get rid of it."

"You know, I'm not really sure, but, is this supposed to be entertaining?" Hadji asked.

"I thought so."

When the boys were properly settled, Catherine looked around. "Where's Michelle?"

I looked around with everyone else, but couldn't find her. We shrugged at each other.

"Okay. Hold up. I'll go get her." She disappeared, over the hill again.

Jonny reached up and pulled Jessie into the tube. She yelped caught off guard and he covered her mouth with one hand. He tickled her ribs with the other. She squeeled and pushed him away. "Stop. You're going to make me kick them."

He did and gave her a look I hadn't seen him give her before. Then we heard Michelle's voice and she appeared with Catherine. The look faded from him and they made room for me on the tube. Michelle sat across mine and Jessie's laps.

"Are you guys ready?"

Jessie nodded and I said that I was.

Michelle kicked her legs. "Why aren't we going yet?"

Ryan had his eyes closed. "I'm still counting my blessings."

"Well, hold on while you count," Catherine said, and gave us a push.

"Oh, crap," Ryan said.

Michelle squeeled the whole way down.

The boys' feet, hanging low over the side of the tube, kicked powdery snow over us. I coughed and squinted against the stinging flakes. Bumps, twigs and shadows flew past us, faster than I could keep track of. Michelle's nails dug into my palms. Jonny put his hands in the air and that's when we went through the dip.

The tube stopped under us. I crashed into the bank, heart feeling thrown against my ribs. It took me a minute to register what happened. I pulled myself out of the snow and twisted around to sit with my legs flat out in front of me.

Almost everyone was scattered on the ground except for Hadji, who was still in the tube, and Jessie, who stood in the snow looking around, as if she were bewildered that she was actually standing. "Okay," she said. "I am ninja."

Ryan was by me. He groaned and lay on his back, sprawled like he was making a snow angel. Michelle got up and stumbled around a little. "That was awesome."

Jonny groaned. "My face."

Hadji smiled. "You're right, Jonny. That was grand."

"Shut up."

By the time we decided to pack up and head home, I had been cold for so long that my skin was sore and ragged. Jessie and I were packing the remaining hot dogs into Paul's cooler when Michelle came over to us. She leaned over with her elbows on the table for a while and watched us.

"Jessie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you love Jonny?" Michelle asked.

Jessie's smile fell. She looked as if someone had just thrown cold water on her. She took a minute and her face flickered through a myriad of emotions, eyes lowering and wandering around, as if she were searching for something inside of her. Jessie watched the blond boy carrying the grill towards the car, chatting with Hadji and Ryan. She licked her lips and smiled politely at Michelle. "It's hard to say."

Michael was up and looking alive again when we came back. We saw him in the lobby as we unloaded our various supplies.

"Hey how was it? Did you miss me? Was it even worth going without me?"

Ryan scowled at him. "You were getting ready to die this morning, remember?"

"No. How was it?"

Jessie set the thermos on the tile while she untied her boots. "All in all, it wasn't bad."

Jonny looked at her. "I almost broke my _face_."

"You ever been on an outing where you _didn't_ almost break your face?"

"Oh, you are so clever."

Catherine stuck her head into the hall. "Hey, we have dinner," she said. "And a new chef. For a little while at least."

"Oh thank God," Jonny said in a low voice. "I was afraid we would never figure out how to eat." He took his time setting his things down and arranging them once, then undoing it and rearranging them. He was still doing so when Ryan and I headed off to the dining room. Gwen was already seated at the head of the table and covered platters lined the ornate cream table cloth. It reminded me of something from Beauty and the Beast.

Catherine sat in the center, a couple places down from Gwen, helping Michelle off with her gloves and boots. Ryan sat next to her, leaving a seat for me between him and Gwen. The room quickly filled with Race the last to enter. Hadji sat directly across from me, next to Jessie. Benton sat next to her and Jonny on the other side of him, also next to Michael. Sherise and Paul sat on opposite sides of the table from each other. Michelle gladly took the other head of table position.

Catherine asked where Race was and Jessie mentioned that he was walking the perimeter. Paul looked like he was going to say something about it, but obviously decided against it.

Dinner was duck served over wild rice and a side of brueschetta and roasted nuts.

Half-way through dinner, Gwen turned to me. "So, what are your plans, dear?"

Ryan beamed and responded for me. "Katia is going to be a music major. You should hear her compositions. Already. They're amazing. It's the stuff you'll hear in movies one day." My face suddenly felt hot and I wished that Ryan wouldn't hype it up so much.

Gwen smiled thinly. "Is that so?"

"You'll have to show us sometime. I've always been curious to see how it's all done." Jessie said, leaning forward, looking at me, eyes bright and excited. "How long have you been composing?"

"Since I was a little kid. My dad got me into it from the very beginning. He was a composer."

"Was he?" Gwen said. "Anyone we might have heard of?"

"Art Schneider."

"He composed a show in Las Vegas once, didn't he?" Jessie asked. "With the lights."

"_Yeah_. That was him."

"Schneider," Gwen tasted the word. "I believe I may have met this Schneider. Was your mother's name also Gwen?"

"My step-mother, yes."

"Well then. Isn't that something? I believe I had the privilege of going out to dinner with your parents some years back. Fancy fellow, your father." She thought a minute to herself. "Katia. You're the one who ran off that summer, for a couple of weeks? Gave your father a dreadful ulcer."

Instantly, sweat gathered above my lip and over all my skin. I was cold and hot at once. I felt the same way, suddenly, as I had years before when the police came to bring me home, talk to me about it. When my father told me that I had disappointed him and I was stupid.

Ryan glared at her. "What's the matter with you?"

"Doesn't it concern you at all?"

"Why can't you ever just put the past in the past. Just let it go." Some people were staring at us, some stared at their plates. Jessie bit her lip and twisted her food around the plate with her fork. "Sometimes things fall out of place, even with good people. It _is_ possible to just accept that and move on without making them feel like dirt. Whether you believe it or not."

Jessie put her fork and knife on her plate and got up. "It was delicious," she whispered and left.

Jonny watched her go, briefly, then gave me a reassurig look. A supportive smile crossed his face and he looked away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay... That turned out ridiculously long. . And dry. Didn't actually have much fun writing this part. Next part should be better. Stupid Day 2, I hate you.


	4. December 24 Part 1

I seem to have lost all the files I once had about this story. Oh well. Winging it.

I split the days again. I really need to stop doing that.

Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda, yadda. I obviously don't own any of the JQ characters. You all know who they are. The others, I do own. You know who those ones are. Yadda, yadda.

....oh. And the violence. I should probably forewarn you about the violence.

WARNING: Some mild violence and swearing, heavy adult themes, and adult language. Also – some disturbing nuances.

Heads up.

**Day 3**

Michael hung over the couch, intermittently staring at Jessie and flipping his phone open to check for messages.

"Do you think it's immoral for someone with a contagious disease to intentionally infect someone else with that disease... by going to their house?"

"I think terrorists do that," Jonny said.

Jessie raised a brow at him. "If you get my baby sick, I will fillet you. With a butter knife."

Jonny looked up. "Can I help?"

"...And then use their illness as an excuse to stay at their house because they will need someone to make soup for them and bring them hot tea... and fluff their pillows and adjust their blankets..."

Jessie tilted her head to the side. "That's somewhere between sweet and... wrong."

"Why don't you get Race sick," Ryan said. "Bring him soup and fluff his pillows? He could probably use it."

"I was thinking a girl. You know."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

Michael sat up and leaned forward. "You know. People _like_ me. I have social skills. I have good looks."

"You have _logorrhea_," Jessie said.

Michael sniffed and turned to me and Ryan. "What're we doing today while the grown-ups are away?"

"You're _20_," Jessie said.

"'Grown up' is a state of mind sweet heart."

"We could eat," Jonny said. "We could go get something to eat. Eating is always good. Especially when I don't have to make it."

"We could go to South Towne," Jessie said. "It's got a billion places to eat."

"It's also a _mall_. I can't believe you even tried to slip that by us." Jonny said.

"Are you saying you don't want to go?"

"No. I'm down."

Ryan looked at Hadji. "You wanna go?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

He turned to me. "I know you wanna go."

"What about me?" Michael asked.

"You'll go wherever we tell you to go."

"Who says?"

"Hey, Michael. We're all going to South Towne. You coming?"

Sheepishly: "Yes."

I got to my feet. "I'll be right back." Then whispered to Ryan - "I have to pee before we go."

---

After I washed my hands and turned off the light, I struggled down the hall. It was dark and there were random chairs and end tables in the way. It had been a bad idea to turn out the light at all.

When I was half way down the hall, Jonny, Jessie and Hadji came out of the TV room. Hadji went into the kitchen, the door clicking behind him.

Jonny pushed Jessie against the wall and kissed her.

He kissed her in a way that I had never imagined he could kiss someone. Both his hands were wrapped in her hair, his stomach pressed against hers, and his feet at an angle, pushing him into her.

He grabbed her hip and dug his nails into her skin, grinding his body against hers.

She pulled away and blinked at him. "Are you alright?" she said.

He stopped and stared down at her, catching his breath. Wild blond strands of hair fell over his eyes. He bit his lip, eyes moving across her face, looking for something I couldn't see. "Yeah," he whispered, backing away. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Are you?"

She nodded.

He scratched his neck and looked away. "Yeah."

There was silence between them – heavy, clinging to their bodies, suspending them in time.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He touched a knuckle to her cheek, smiled, then disappeared into the kitchen.

Jessie bit her finger and looked around for a minute, seemingly trying to make up her mind. She turned and went back into the TV room.

---

When we got to the mall, Jessie edged away from us. She gestured down one of the halls. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to go get... stuff."

"You're not hungry?"

"No. I actually ate before you guys got up. I just needed to get stuff here."

"Like what?"

"Clothes..."

"Maternity clothes?" Michael said.

"I hate the way that sounds."

Jonny made a face. "Me too."

"Anyway. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Hadji and I hung behind a bit while the others headed to the food court.

"Need some company?" I asked.

"No. I don't. Thanks, but no."

"Are you sure?" Hadji said.

"Yes. I wouldn't say it if I wasn't sure."

He nodded and we followed the others to the food court.

---

I decided on Chinese. With lots of soy sauce. It's just not good food without more soy sauce than rice.

Jonny frowned at his food. "This oreo pie thing – kind of disappointing."

"Can I have it, then?" Michael said.

"It's not _that_ disappointing."

I picked the carrots out of my dish with the edge of my fork. When I looked up, there was a flash and all I could see for a minute were yellow and white spots.

"That's fucking creepy," Ryan said.

I blinked and was able to see him fairly clearly again. "What?"

"That guy... he just took a picture of you."

"Of me?"

Jonny stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. "What guy? Are you sure he took a picture of Katia, specifically?"

"Yeah." Ryan was standing now, too. "He's been watching our table, then came over closer and aimed right at her..." He looked around. "Where'd that fucker go?"

Hadji turned to Jonny. "Do you think it's Hendricks?"

Jonny stepped up on the table and scanned the crowd. "Looking," he said. Then his eyes narrowed. "Got him."

The table rattled as Jonny leapt from it, knocking the contents to the floor where they crashed and sprayed Dr. Pepper, chicken, soy sauce and other random bits of food all over the chairs and on my clothes.

"Where's he going?"

Hadji scrambled over the table, following Jonny. "After him."

Before I could get over the catastrophe that had happened to the table, the whole group was up and running after Jonny. I followed, with little hope of catching up.

Jonny was pushing through the crowd, stepping over chairs and and dodging the cleaning crew and their mops.

A few yards ahead, I could see his target – the man that Race had confronted the day before, lugging a camera around his neck, pressing it to his chest so it didn't rattle as he ran.

A security officer stepped in front of Jonny advising him to slow down according to Mall rules.

Jonny looped his foot behind the man's knee and pushed him over. The man's left shoulder crashed into a directory sign as he fell. The sign rattled, swinging on its stand for a minute before tumbling over onto him.

"Sorry," Jonny said before running off. "Sorry, sorry."

He got to the center of the mall where it branched off in four directions. He stopped and looked each way. That's where we caught up to him.

"Where'd he go?" Hadji said.

"Shut up. I'm looking."

We all took a step back from him, caught off guard by his hostility.

Michael was behind the rest of us. He leaned over, his hands on his knees, panting.

Ryan glared at him. "You're out of breath?"

"I _ran_."

Ryan hit him on the back of the head. "You need to stop smoking, man."

Then Jonny was gone again – making for the escalators.

We started after him, but Michael grabbed Hadji's arm. "Wait. Wait. Why are we chasing this guy?"

"He has a history," Hadji said and ran after Jonny.

Michael threw his arms into the air and yelled at Hadji's back. "It's the English language, man. It's not that hard to say something that's fracking _understandable._"

The man with the camera was on the escalators, heading down, pushing people out of his way. Jonny raced down the _up_ escalator, dodging people by hopping on the railing. They were almost to the bottom when Jonny leaped over the divider and grabbed the man by his collar.

He scratched at Jonny's face and twisted away. He had one arm still wrapped around the camera, protecting it more than himself. Jonny yelled something at him, but I couldn't make out the words.

We were on the down escalator now, excusing and pardoning ourselves down past others as fast as we could.

Jonny jumped from the divider onto the man, knocking him against the opposite railing and the camera onto the ground. The neck band still clung around the man's shoulders.

When they stood right next to each other, it suddenly became apparent that the man was probably twice as big as Jonny. He seemed to forget this momentarily, and cowered, receding back up the escalator steps.

He looked up and his eyes met with Hadji's. He turned back to Jonny, brows furrowed and jaw set squarely. He grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him down the rest of the steps where Jonny crashed on his left wrist and curled up in pain.

It was only two more steps down before the man was on the ground level, collecting the camera and rushing towards the exit.

Jonny got a hold of his ankle and yanked, dragging the man down. His camera impacted on a nearby counter and split open.

"You little fucker," he said, kicking Jonny in the face.

Jonny stumbled up, clutching his forearm and wincing. He grit his teeth and grabbed a fistful of the man's hair and punched him, connecting firmly with the man's upper cheek, just missing the eye. He punched him again. And again.

By the time Hadji grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away, the man was missing a tooth and his face was a nearly indistinguishable mess of gray, blistered skin and fresh, running blood.

Jonny pushed Hadji away and collapsed against a pillar, breathing heavily, still glaring at the man, his chin up.

The man laughed. "How long have you been dreaming of this moment, boy?"

Jonny picked the camera pieces from the ground and yanked the film out, holding them to the light. "Just wanted _you_ to know what it was like to have your face smashed in."

He squinted at the negatives, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he did so. He put them down, glaring at the man. In one movement, before anyone could stop him, Jonny stood up, grabbed the man by his hair, and slammed his head into the floor.


	5. December 24 Part 2

Hrrm. Nothing to say.

Same disclaimers and warnings apply as Day 3 Part 1.

**Day 3, Part 2**

"What _happened?_"

Hadji held up his hands. "Sit down, Jessie."

"Sit down? Jonny is walking away in handcuffs and you expect me to sit _down_. Have you lost your mind?"

"I can explain if you'll just-"

"Why don't I even get a chance to talk to him. What was he arrested for this time?"

"Assault," Ryan said.

Hadji shook his head at him. "Ryan, _please._"

"_Assault_? Are you serious. _Assault?_ Who and... why... and... and... and... _what_? You cannot possibly be serious. I swear to god. I was in the store for _ten minutes. _Ten fucking minutes and I come out and there's cops everywhere and _of course_ Jonny's involved. Of course he is. Because there's never a damn bit of trouble Jonny _isn't_ involved in. There's plenty of other people in this world to go getting into trouble... but no. It always has to be Jonny."

"Are you done?"

"Almost." She paced from the railing to Hadji and back to the railing again. "Does he _realize _that he's going to have a kid? Does he realize that he has to be the responsible one? He can't keep doing crazy crap that's going to get him arrested. I mean, what happened? What really happened here?"

"This guy," Michael said. "Jonny beat the crap out of him."

She was pinching her brow. "Please tell me that you're _making all this up._"

Hadji threw his turban onto a nearby table and ran his hands through his hair. "Okay," he said. "I need everybody... to just step back a little and stop saying things."

When he turned back to Jessie, she had her arms crossed over her chest, looking expectantly at him.

"When we were eating lunch," he said. "We ran into Hendricks."

She turned her head and glared at him from the corner of her eye. "_Thee_ Hendricks?"

"Yes."

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Where is he now? What happened to him?"

"He was arrested as well. But now they have the negatives. The pictures that he takes. This time he might actually stay in prison."

"So... what does this have to do with Jonny?"

He stared at her. "I _know_ you can fill in the blanks, Jessie."

"I don't _want_ to _fill in the blanks_. Tell me exactly what happened."

"He took a picture of Katia, Jonny went to get the camera back."

"And they _arrested _him for that?"

"Well, he might have punched Hendricks. A couple of times. A lot of times."

"Please tell me it was necessary for him to do that."

"It might have seem necessary to Jonny at the time."

"And you didn't stop him?"

Hadji itched his head. "Well... It happened... kind of quickly."

She stepped closer to him.

"Did you at least _try_?"

"Didn't occur to me to do that until later."

"Later when?"

"Around the time the police arrived."

She kicked the bags she'd just brought, spilling the contents onto the floor. "Okay," she said. "One of _you_ four gets to call Dr. Quest," she said, then she left.

We looked from one to the other.

Ryan shrugged. "Draw straws?"

---

"Do you want kids?" Ryan said in a hushed voice.

We were sitting at the kitchen counter, back at the mansion. Almost the entire family was gathered up, whispering amongst themselves. Hazy, afternoon light trickled in around pine branches. Michelle drew grass and a tree on the back of a book.

"Absolutely not," I said.

The back door swung open and Dr. Quest stomped the snow off his boots before entering.

"How'd it go?" Race said.

"Ran into one too many ruffians," he said, untying his laces. He gestured backwards. "This one claims to be a vigilante."

Jonny trudged up behind him. "Vigi- what?"

"Don't think too hard on it, Jonny."

"Never do.​"

Jessie hopped off the counter. "Jonathan Benton Quest. I do have a weapon and if you do not have a very excellent explanation, I _will_ use it on you."

"Explanation?"

"What am I going to tell this baby about why his father ends up in jail every few months?"

He rolled his eyes. "For _small_, stupid crap. Nothing serious."

She splayed out her fingers, touching each one as she counted off the reasons. "Assault. Trespassing. Vandalism-"

"Vanda- That was a school _prank_."

"You still got arrested. And now _assault_. It just keeps getting better and better. If you keep this up, what am I supposed to tell this baby when he gets older? About why you're always gone, put away."

He shook his head at her as he crumpled his citations and threw them at the trash. "Tell him that I'm just a stupid, angry kid. Okay?"

Jessie stopped walking, allowing Jonny to get a few steps ahead of her before he realized that she wasn't beside him and turned around. "What?"

"I'm afraid of how this is going to turn out."

He stepped towards her until his face was an inch from hers. "What did you expect?"

"I _didn't _expect you to be off getting yourself arrested every time I turn my back."

Jonny pulled his hair, lips tightening, jaw twitching. "You don't think that he deserved it? After everything that he caused, after everything that he put us through... after... this whole fucking mess?"

Catherine, sitting next to Michelle, covered her ears. "I've heard those words before," she said in a sing-song voice.

"What he deserves is not relevant and it certainly does not outweigh you staying out of trouble."

"He took a picture of Katia."

"So you call the police. And _maybe_ go after him to get the camera back. But you don't do shit that's going to get you arrested for assault."

"He _needed _to be hit."

"What? _Needed._ Why?"

"Because... because he's a douche bag. That's why."

"Because he's a-" She threw her arms into the air. "That doesn't even make sense. I can't even try to reason with you because your arguments are all _completely_ fallacious."

"_You're _'fallacious'."

Jonny turned around and headed for the back door instead. He flipped it open and left.

Jessie stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching him through the window, arms crossed, breathing audibly.

Race touched her arm. "Jessie-"

"_No_." She whipped around and left by the door leading into the rest of the house.

We stood in silence a few moments until Gwen started laughing sarcastically. "Oh, what a riot you all are."

Michael sidled over between Ryan and Hadji. "Do you think Jessie really has a weapon?" he whispered.

Hadji whispered back. "Jessie _is_ a weapon."

Ryan shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, tilting his head toward me. "This probably hasn't been a very good vacation for you, has it?"

"No. It hasn't," I said. I studied the faces of every one around me – cold, tense and shut off. I got up and headed for the door.

"Katia-"

"I'll be back."

The hall was dark. The fucking halls in this house were always dark. I traced my hand along the edge until I got to the lobby, then up the marble stairs and down another impossibly dark hallway. I counted the doors, touching the knob on each one until I got to Jessie's.

I pounded on the soft, dark wood. A minute later, it peeped open. Jessie glared out through a slit of light.

"Should I be concerned that that man took my picture?" I said.

She looked me up and down. I felt naked while her eyes crawled over me. She opened the door all the way and let me in. "Yes," she said, closing the door behind me.

I sat in a gold and red chair in the corner of the room.

"Why? And why were Jonny and Hadji – specifically – so riled up about it? Hadji said he had a 'history'."

"It's complicated."

"He took a picture of _me_, Jessie. I know that you know what's going on, and at this point, I deserve to know. I didn't ask for this. I just came here for a vacation. And now I'm a part of _your_ mess."

"Whether you believe it or not. _We_ didn't bring this mess on you. You were qualified for it in the first place. It was just a fucking coincidence. In fact, you being her probably saved your life. Or your sanity, at least."

"Qualified? I 'qualified' for this? Whatever 'this' is. That makes no sense. How can you even think that that makes any sense at all?"

She sighed and sat on the floor, between the bed and the wall, rubbing her face. "Two years ago... maybe less, that same man took my picture, _and_ Jonny's. We were with Hadji, the three of us together." She bit her lip. "At the time, we saw it... and were just like... okay. That was weird but whatever."

I slid off the chair and sat on the floor, facing her.

She sighed and rested her head against the wall, staring at the ceiling. "This man," she said. "Works for a gang. The Quetzalcoatls. Perhaps you could call them a mob, more like. But, they have one area of expertise – ransom."

"Ransom?"

"Right."

"If this guy is known for _ransom_, why are they throwing such a big deal about the pictures? That'd be the least of my worries."

"That's how they choose their next target."

"Pictures?"

"That's what I said."

"Ransom is for money. Why do they need a picture?"

"Whenever someone goes missing or is hurt, kidnapped, raped, killed, anything – people _should_ be concerned about all of them equally. But the gang knows that that's not how the world works. Especially not America. A pretty girl goes missing, it attracts _a lot _more attention than say - a ruffian-looking guy. It shouldn't be that way. It's not fair that it is. But that's how this world works."

"So they get pictures and pick... what? The one with their favorite hair?"

"The prettiest. Haven't you been listening? Don't waste my time asking questions if you're not going to listen to the answer."

"So... they just pick who they're going to... hold for ransom? Based on the prettiest?"

"To over simplify it – yes. That's sadly a big part. The rich part counts to. It's part of what would make you a target in the first place."

I opened my mouth and closed it. I was a target. Why did it take me so long to realize? "My dad..."

She nodded.

"And Jonny's dad?"

"Yep."

"I thought they decided by pretty."

"I didn't mean pretty, per se. I meant looks. Good looks, that really pull on the heart strings of the media."

I shook my head. "But he's in jail now, right. The man at the mall, the one that Jonny hit. The guy who does this. They said he was in jail."

Jessie nodded. "For the time being. The one good thing about this whole...." she made a motion in the air with her hand. "...day... is that they got the _camera_. See, before, they couldn't prove that Hendricks was connected to the gang."

"How do you know that he is?"

"I saw him there."

I swallowed, before speaking, my chest tightening. "Where?"

Jessie stared off. "A few weeks later, Jonny and I were _chosen_ as targets."

"Targets? As in-"

"Yes. Whatever it is you were going to say, yes."

I stared at her. "What happened?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes. "We were there for a week. A lot of things happened."

I calmed myself by imagining that man behind steel and concrete. "What about you?" I said. "I mean... Was it different for you... than Jonny?" Before I knew it, my legs were drawn tightly against my chest. "Because you're a girl?"

"What the fuck makes it your business?"

I held my head in my hands. "I didn't want this. I just wanted a vacation. I just wanted to go home to a boy's parents for the first time."

"And you think I wanted this?"

"I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

Jessie held her hands over her belly and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't mean to be hostile. I'm sorry. It's just... I wake up in the morning and I can't believe that this has all happened. That it's still happening. Sometimes there is no linear time for me. What happened then happens again and again and again. In the present, and I can't make it stop."

We sat together, watching the room darken as it got late.

"Jessie?"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay? I mean, are you really okay?"

She took a minute before answering me. "'Okay' is just a state of mind," she said. "Like anything else – it's what you choose to be. And we don't really have any choice _but _to be okay."

I nodded and leaned my head against the seat of the chair. I looked around the room. If Jessie had clothes or anything in the way of belongings here, she had put them away neatly, seamlessly. "I'm going back downstairs," I said. "You wanna come with?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

I got up and held out a hand to her. She took it and followed me, biting her thumb nail all the way.

I came back feeling, for the first time, like I actually knew what was going on with my crazy boyfriend's crazy family – and also with the feeling that I never should have come to this godforsaken family gathering in the first place – no matter _what _Jessie said.

We found the at least half the family in the TV room. Jonny was talking when we came in.

"My dad bailed me out almost as soon as they were done booking me."

"So you didn't see anybody? Did they put you in a cell or anything?" Michael dug a cherry from a dish on the coffee table.

"For, like, an hour."

"So... what was it like?"

Jonny shrugged, twisting a cherry stem between his teeth. "I had to sit next to this old drunk man... He kept rubbing his own stupid head for good luck. He wanted to explain the answers of life to me. Except he never actually got anywhere with it – just kept saying, 'now I'm going to take a step back here...' 'now, I'm going to take a step back here...' I wanted to take him back enough steps until he fell off the face of the earth."

Jessie and I sat together on a couch turned at any angle toward the TV. Michael and Ryan were gathered around Jonny on the couch opposite us.

Sherise, Catherine and Michelle sat together on the center couch. _Elf_ was playing on TV, the volume turned so low that I could only occasionally make out what sounded like a whisper coming from it. Michelle still laughed at it on periodically.

Race was the farthest away – sitting in a chair beside the door to the patio, staring out the window.

"And then there were these two guys you would never expect would be in the joint - middle aged men, dressed up in suits and whatnot... but they got into this huge fight with each other. Started throwing things, spitting and clawing at each other like high school girls. I guess the one stabbed the other with a pencil."

"What was the issue?"

"A porcelain poodle."

The patio door opened and Paul stuck his head in. "Hey, I need you boys to help build us a fire out here."

Michael and Jonny threw their cherry stems into the discard cup and leapt over the coffee table, and past Race, out the door.

"Can I watch?" Michelle said.

Sherise sighed. "Inside or outside, Michelle?"

She leaned over to peer out the window. "Outside."

Sherise flipped off the TV and rushed the girl out the door.

Ryan came over to our couch and sat next to me.

"Do you want to, um, supervise them with me?"

I nodded and followed Ryan out into the backyard where Michael and Jonny were already chopping wood.

Gwen sat in a hammock by the pool. "I've never seen you boys so anxious to help," she called out.

"Are you kidding?" Jonny said. "I love fire."

Ryan took my hand and led me around the corner of the house. "How're you feeling?" he said.

"I want to go home."

He rested his head against mine. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be like this. I didn't even know about all this until I got here."

"I know." I stood on my toes to kiss him. "But, I'm kind of scared."

"About what?"

In the yard, someone called his name. The voice approached.

He stared at the brick, as if that could help him see who was on the other side of the wall. He sighed and turned back to me. "Our plane leaves tomorrow night, can you make it until then?"

"Yeah."

"_Ryan_." It was Paul calling him.

"Coming," he yelled. Then, to me, "We'll talk tonight?"

I nodded.

I again followed him back into the yard where Jonny was lighting the bottom of the fire pit.

Race, Jessie and Catherine were now outside, as well. Everybody was in jeans and long sleeved shirts and didn't seem to be bothered at all by the cold. Michelle was beside the pool making snow angels.

"What did you need me for? Looks like the pyros already have this taken care of."

"Yes," Paul said, handing Ryan a plate of hot dogs and hamburger patties. "And I don't trust said pyros not to burn these."

"Hot dogs, Paul? We had hot dogs yesterday."

"Yeah? I also showered yesterday. I don't see that as reason not to take one again today."

Ryan shook a hot dog at him. "This is not food."

"You know," Jonny said. "Contrary to popular belief, I can barbecue. You know... without burning it or killing people. Granted, I've never done it while it was snowing... but I'm sure it's roughly the same idea."

"You just work on that bonfire, kiddo."

Jonny blew on it a little, then looked up. "Hey... What does 'fallacious' mean?"

Jessie shook her head. "I can't believe you."

Jonny glared at her but Michelle sidled up next to Jessie before he could say anything.

"Are you guys going to get married?" she asked.

"No," Jessie said.

Jonny's head snapped up, but he quickly looked down again, busying himself with the fire, brows furrowed.

Paul reached over Ryan and dumped seasoning onto the hamburgers. "And when did you jokers decide on that?" he said, eying Jonny.

"We didn't," he said.

Catherine stepped between them. "I don't really think that this is anybody else's business."

"I don't, either," I said.

"Well, they're kids. They obviously haven't the first clue how they're going to handle this relationship."

Jessie pulled on her hair, eyes furiously red at this point. "It's not a relationship."

"Well, then what in the hell do you think-"

"_Paul_," Race said. Everyone took a step back. "You choose your words carefully around my daughter."

He swallowed. "Yessir."

Jessie was shaking her head and crying. "I just wanted proof that it could still be good. Nice, I mean. Nice. That's all this was, this whole mess. Everything. The relationship. The sex.

"I just... I needed someone to be nice to me. I needed someone to let _me_ say yes or no. Let me say when, say where... And would stop-" she swallowed. "Who would stop when I said 'stop'. Who wouldn't pressure me, who wouldn't force- I just needed someone to be _nice_. That's all there was too it. I just needed that. And Jonny was all of those things.

"All Jonny did was allow himself to be a part of that."

I glanced at Jonny sideways, from the corner of my eye. We all slowly looked toward him. He stared at the fire. I got the feeling that he knew the everyone was watching him. He closed his eyes.

She gasped, as if she had just re-entered her body – had just been able to regain control of herself, and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry," Jessie said.

Jonny swallowed. "Good night," he said. Then he was gone, disappearing into the house.

Race tapped his fingers on the side of the barbecue. "Jessie-"

She covered her eyes. "I don't know what just happened."

"You need to go talk to him. That was cruel."

"I didn't mean-" she choked on her words. "It all just came out. I'm sorry."

He came closer to her and whispered. "He's the father of your child. You can't just leave it like that. You can't say things like that. Sometimes it's _not_ the right thing to do – to blurt out the truth."

"I know. I know."

"Go talk to him, right now, before it gets worse."

"I can't."

"I know that it's confusing. You got in over your head. But you have to make a choice. Are you going to go forward with him, or..." he sighed. "Are you going to arrange a custody agreement?"

She shivered. "We wouldn't have to do that," she said.

"Oh, that's what you think."

"We never had a relationship," she said. "I mean, he's a good friend. He and Hadji... are really the only friends I have... but we just... there was no... _relationship_ relationship."

"Whatever the circumstances were at the time, you made a choice, Jessie. You chose to go to Jonny. Was there a reason for that?"

"I already told you what the reason was," she said. She groaned and sat in a patio chair. "I told _everybody _what the reason was."

"So... that's it? You got what you wanted out of him... maybe some extra things you didn't want, and now you're just going to... leave it at that? He's your _friend_," Race said quietly. "Remember? Did you really just go to him for sex when you had no intention of having a relationship?"

"I don't know what I did. I didn't have a plan. I wasn't thinking."

"Did he know that? Everything that you said – did he know that at the time?"

"To a degree, yes."

"Does he feel the same way?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

He sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What're you going to do?"

She stood and dumped the rest of her milk into the sink and rinsed the cup. "I don't know. But right now, I'm going to bed. Maybe things will be different in the morning."

"Not unless you make them different."

As she walked by, he caught her arm and pulled her into a hug. She gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Good night, Dad."

He kissed her forehead. "Good night, Ponchita."

We stared at each other, and at the floor for several minutes after she left. Paul kicked at a rock. "Is anybody staying up for hot dogs?"

----

I had a dream about Jonny. We were in the hospital and he was talking about the baby. He was wearing a beanie, sweats and a jacket. He looked absurdly out of place in the hospital.

He said the smoking was bad for the baby and that he wished the people would stop.

I wanted to ask him who, but then I realized that we were outside, walking across a familiar lawn, stepping over a familiar garden.

When we got to the front door, I realized it wasn't Jonny anymore. It was the officer. There was pounding, over and over. I stood, sweating in the cold night air, dreading my dad appearing and telling me how I had so irreversibly disappointed him. Then he took my picture.

I woke then and sat up in bed. The window was open and the street light poured in periodically as the drapes swung back and forth.

Suddenly, I felt time and space loop. I imagined what it would feel like to be Jessie on a night like this. Waking from a nightmare, staring at the dancing drapes – alone. I wondered if I wouldn't have crawled into Jonny's room if it were me.

I wondered if it _would_ be me.

I sat up for another hour wishing that I could pray the whole Quetzalcoatl story away.


	6. December 25

Last day of this story. Hope you enjoyed.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Quest crew, but I do own every one else. Not making money, yadda, yadda.

**Day 4**

We managed to drag ourselves out of bed around ten the next morning.

When we came downstairs, we found that there were dishes on the dining room table – still dirty with bits of egg and toast crust.

In the kitchen, Jonny and Michael were fiddling with the stove. A sauce pan on the back burner hissed in protest.

"Has the fire marshal been alerted to the fact that you two are playing with the stove unsupervised?"

"Of course," Jonny said. "Did you miss the fire engine waiting outside?"

"Whatcha guys making?" I said.

"I don't know yet," Michael said.

Jonny raised a brow at him. "_I'm_ making Mac and Cheese. Either of you want something that's not mystery meat?"

"Is this your second breakfast?"

"Second breakfast? I just woke up."

"So those dishes on the dining table..."

"Property of the morning people."

"So you're going to have Mac and Cheese for breakfast on Christmas morning?"

"Good food has no time limits, my friend."

"Does bad food have time limits?"

"I like Mac and Cheese," I said. "I'll have some. Do you need help?"

"I don't suppose you could make the water boil faster, could you? And, yes, before you say ask, I do have the burner on high, and, yes, it _is _the right burner. Thank you."

"I think I'll help Michael make something a little less mysterious," Ryan said.

"Too late, he's already got some substance in his pan."

"Those are potatoes, Jonny."

"But do they have cheesy goodness?"

"Do you know what you're putting on your potatoes, Michael? Or what you're having with them?"

"I was thinking I'd make that up as I go. They're potatoes, right, they go with pretty much anything."

The door swung open and Gwen surveyed the room, chin parallel to the floor, eying each one of us over the top of her nose.

"Ryan and... Michael," she said. "We need you to help rearrange the living room so that we can all sit around the tree."

"I can help," Jonny said.

"No," she said. "No, you can't."

"Ha," Michael said. "My reputation's still better than yours."

"I'm just not sure how to take that."

"Can you do something with these potatoes while we're gone?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Ryan gave me a peck on the cheek before hurrying out to the living room.

Gwen stayed behind a moment, measuring Jonny with her eyes. "Don't touch the stove while we're gone." She said, then disappeared.

"Well, that sort of defeats the purpose of me doing something with the potatoes, now doesn't it?"

"It gives me something to do."

"You know I can operate a stove without catching things on fire, right? One person's vote of confidence: that's all I need."

"I won't tell anyone if you use it."

"That's the closest thing to a 'yes' I've ever received." He turned the stove down and poured the box of macaroni noodles into the pan. "I plan all this out, you know. I mean, at first, breaking innumerable bones – repeatedly, including my femur – repeatedly, might seem like a pretty steep price to pay to not have to move furniture. But, then comes the moment when it's either the cheesy goodness of Mac or rearranging the living room, well, this moment, dear Katia, this moment is when it all becomes worth it."

"You feel left out, don't you?"

"A little."

"Hey," I said. "I know this isn't any of my business, but... I just hope you're doing okay. After... everything yesterday. Are you okay?"

He shrugged, setting the ladle on the counter and opening the fridge. "Not much I can do about it at this point, so no point in thinking on it."

"That's a little depressing."

"Life _is_ depressing," he said, digging through the crisper. "On the bright side, we still have onions." He stood up and tossed one in the air to demonstrate.

I raised a brow at him.

"For the potatoes. You can put onions on potatoes, right? To make them... a more legitimate meal."

"That's not what the look was for."

"Should I be crying right now? I should probably be crying, huh? Or, maybe yelling at Jessie. But, she's pregnant, and, as much as I honestly don't want to raise a kid, I _really_ don't want to be raising a kid with defects because his mother's raised stress levels gave him... defects." He pulled a knife from the block and peeled off the brown outer layers of the onion.

"Is it a he, then?"

"Too early to say. At least that's what they tell me and I don't really question them." He chopped the onion straight onto the counter without a cutting board. "Does that make me a bad person? Because I don't want to raise this kid? I mean, I will, but I have no desire for it. If Jessie had a miscarriage right now, I wouldn't give a damn. I would finally sleep, you know, really sleep, and would just start over in the morning."

"You know that I'm going to tell you that that doesn't make you a bad person."

"I was looking for cheap reassurance. I guess it doesn't make a difference if you mean it or not."

"I don't think it's your first impulses that make you a good or bad person – you can't really help those. It's the choices that you make – deciding to do the right thing despite those impulses that determine what kind of person you can be called. Besides, you haven't even met him, yet. You might like the kid."

"I might," he said, shaking the knife at me. "I might. They say I will and, well, like I said, I don't question them. Oh my god."

"What?"

"The noodles are done. Like, done five minutes ago, done."

"Where's the strainer?"

He pointed to a cupboard and I dumped the noodles into the strainer while he tossed the onions over the potatoes and twirled the spice rack.

"Does Jessie know how you feel?"

"She feels the same way, or possibly just wishes that I was more responsible."

I opened my mouth to deny his claim, but decided that he was probably right. "I'm sorry," I said.

"Well," he said. "My guess is that most the people alive right now are the result of their parents' stupid choices – and if those stupid choices hadn't been made, a lot of the people I love probably wouldn't be here right now."

"Was it worth it?"

He stopped twirling the spice rack a minute, looked at me, then laughed. "Yeah," he said. "But not in the way that you're probably thinking."

"In what way, then?" I looked down at the steaming noodles. "I'm sorry. That was probably too personal."

He picked a spice and poured it generously onto the potatoes. I dumped the noodles back into the pan and opened the fridge.

"Um. Do you know where the butter is?"

"Behind the olives."

I retrieved the butter and the milk and measured them out as quickly as I could.

He bit his lip. "I'm sure you know what happened? Before all of this... before me and Jessie..."

"I'm pretty sure I do, yeah."

"Well, whatever you're thinking – yes. It happened. And I was there." He ran his tongue across his lips and stared at his hands. "You wouldn't think – I mean, it wasn't _me – _but I was there and – it... it probably shouldn't-"

"It damaged you, too."

He took a deep breath without taking his eyes off his hands. "It was worth it," he said. "At that point. I know it sounds silly, idiotic, even – fighting fire with fire. But it did help – heal, you could say."

"So you feel like Jessie does, about the whole thing? At least what she said yesterday?"

"No," he said. "No, I do not feel like Jessie does. Yes, that was a reason, but I felt a level of attraction as well..." He looked up, as if searching for more words.

"I bet she did, too. I would have." I twisted my hands together. "I'm going to go see if Ryan and Michael need help."

He laughed. "And let this perfectly good meal of macaroni go cold?" He twirled the pan beneath my nose. "Mmm. It's better hot. You know how Mac gets all clumpy if you let it get cold. All we need now is silverware." He gestured toward a drawer beside the stove.

I relented and got two spoons from the drawer.

"You eat Macaroni with a spoon?" he said. "That's crazy."

"What do _you_ eat Macaroni with?"

"A fork. Like a real person."

"You can't scoop with a fork."

"You don't scoop it. You stab it."

"Well that's just violent."

"The noodles won't mind. You're going to masticate them in 2.5 seconds, anyway."

I put one of the spoons back and got a fork. "Fine, but I like scooping."

"How'd you like that big word, by the way? Masticate. See, I used it right, too."

"I'm very proud."

He smiled at me, lopsidedly – the same way that Ryan smiled at me the first time that we met.

Ryan and Michael came back in, door swinging behind them.

"What do you guys eat Macaroni and Cheese with? A spoon or a fork," Jonny said.

"Oh geez," I said, looking through all the cupboards for bowls.

"I don't eat Macaroni and Cheese at all."

"With both," Michael said. "I scoop it onto a spoon using my fork. Much easier that way."

Jonny shook his head at him. "You're like a kinder gardener."

I put two bowls on the counter.

"What strange, lost civilization are you _from_?"

"What did I do this time?"

"Do you eat your steak out of a bowl, too?" He moved around the island towards the cupboard.

"Macaroni is not steak. You can't get it out of a bowl?"

"I can. But, why would I want to when I can have a plate." He replaced one of the bowls and retrieved a plate.

"You know what we all need," Michael said, wrapping an arm around Jonny.

"Do I wanna know?"

"Eggnog."

"What _kind_ of eggnog?"

"The good kind."

"How about you make it and I'll plead ignorance later."

"I can do that."

"I spiced your potatoes, by the way. I didn't know what else to do with them."

We dished the macaroni up and sat on stools by the bar.

"Macaroni for Christmas breakfast?" Jessie said.

Jonny and I just about jumped out of our skin.

"Jesus, Jess. Make some noise when you come in."

"I could tell you to do the same most days."

"Want some?"

"No. I'm not hungry."

"What're you doing in the kitchen, then?"

"Looking for you."

He pushed his plate over a bit. "Have some anyway, you're too skinny."

"You oughta know by now not to tell me what to do. It won't end well."

"What do you want?"

She sat beside him. "Do you want to start over? The right way?"

"The right way?"

"Slowly."

He stared at his plate a moment. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course." She stood up and left.

-----

The Christmas festivities didn't start until one in the afternoon, when everybody finally gathered in the living room. Ryan and I sat alone on a love seat.

Jessie and Hadji sat on a couch to my right. Michael sat on the divider between the two couches. Jonny sat across the room, next to his dad.

"Do you ever get mad when you can't get that last little inch of eggnog out?" Michael said.

"I might," Ryan said. "If eggnog were measured in inches."

"You know what? I hate you."

Ryan shrugged.

Everybody got Michelle a gift, including myself. While she opened her gifts, playing amidst a mountain of tissue paper, I relaxed in the complete normalcy of that half hour – where it felt like any other Christmas.

I got Ryan the collector's edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and he got me a necklace.

Jonny plopped down between Jessie and Hadji.

"Hi," he said to Jessie. "I'm Jonny."

She laughed half-heartedly.

"Are you ready for this?" he said.

"Not in the least."

"Yeah. Me neither." He tapped her knee. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah." She held her belly and looked up at him. She smiled. "It's a piece of you in there. Always will be."

* * *

END.

Anyone have any ideas for what the kid's name should be in the sequel? At any rate, the first chapter of that story will be up next Monday (hopefully).

Also, I was hoping to get some feedback as to what your favorite / least favorite day was.

Thanks for staying with me! Happy Questing.


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